 Do you know what plagiarism is? You probably at least know it is a bad thing that you want to avoid in your academic writing. Plagiarism can be defined as the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as your own. Plagiarism can be intentional or accidental, but when you take the time to properly cite your sources, you are taking the first step to avoiding plagiarism. This means that if you're writing an essay or a research paper, you have to cite the original sources of where the ideas that you are writing about are coming from. As you practice writing academic essays, your instructors are essentially asking you to do three things. First, in your writing, they want you to show that you have a clear understanding of the material you have read. Second, they want you to refer to your sources to support the ideas you have developed. This is why you need to cite the sources you have used. Finally, they want you to distinguish between your analysis of what you read from the analysis of other authors. You can incorporate sources into your own writing by quoting directly or by paraphrasing. If you're using the original author's words exactly, be sure to use quotation marks and also include an in-text citation. Most of the times when you cite a source, you wanna summarize or paraphrase. Direct quotations should be used sparingly. Anytime you are writing or creating a project for a class that refers to or uses ideas from somewhere else, you have to cite those original sources. This applies even if you are paraphrasing or explaining things in your own words. Exactly what these citations look like will depend on what citation style is required by your professor. For the purposes of this video, we will be looking at examples of MLA style, but there are several different citation styles that you may be asked to use. Keep in mind that IRSE librarians have created detailed lip guides for MLA, APA, CSE, and Chicago that will help you format your writing projects and avoid accidental plagiarism. On these lip guides, you will find multiple examples of references as well as downloadable templates to assist you in formatting your paper. When writing a research essay, there should be multiple in-text citations throughout your paper. Anytime you're referring or talking about one of the articles or books, you need to provide a reference for where you found that information. These internal citations are notes that acknowledge the source. These in-text citations refer the reader to the end of your paper, which will include a work cited page. This may also be referred to as a reference page or bibliography depending on the citation style. The work cited page includes citations providing detailed information that will allow the reader, such as your professor, to go find the original article that you're referring to. The format of these citations will vary depending on the citation style you are using in your assignment. So remember to refer to the relevant lib guide or ask a librarian for help. When you properly cite your sources, you are not only avoiding plagiarism, you are furthering the scholarly conversation while giving credit to the individuals whose thoughts and ideas have contributed to your work. If you have questions about citation styles or avoiding plagiarism in your work, remember that IRSE librarians are always happy to assist you with these questions and concerns.